1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communication, and in particular, to the provision of information usable for performing positioning operations in communication signals.
2. Background
The desire for apparatuses to serve in a multitude of roles is driving designers to incorporate more and more functionality into emerging devices. Wireless-enabled apparatuses are not only limited to the traditional conveyance of audio information, such as during telephonic operations, but may also convey video and other types of information for supporting a multitude of applications. For example, various applications may provide functionality on the surface that relies upon underlying wireless interaction for support. Obvious examples of such applications include programs that allow users to communicate directly with other users or resources, such as email, messaging services, Internet browsers, etc. There are also categories of applications that may provide services not directly related to user communication with other users or resources, but that still rely on underlying wireless exchange of information. Positioning-related services encompass a growing segment of applications that provide location services to users, such as mapping, route determination, tracking, etc., that rely upon wireless interaction for execution.
Positioning-related services may include known user-related applications, such as visual representations of locations or routes that may be displayed for users while underlying wireless communication is used to determine current apparatus position, direction, orientation, etc. However, other uses such as user/object tracking, location-specific social networking and commercial messaging, enhanced visual recognition, etc. are now becoming available that makes the ability to determine apparatus position a desirable feature to provide in mobile apparatuses. Positioning may be implemented using a variety of available technologies. For example, devices may incorporate global positioning system (GPS) receivers to receive signals from satellites for formulating an absolute (fixed) coordinate position. Terrestrial technologies (e.g., earth based cellular signals or short-range wireless interaction), while not as exact, may also be relied upon to resolve an absolute or relative (e.g., with respect to a signal source) apparatus position.
While incorporating positioning technologies in a variety of apparatuses may be possible, the implementation may not always be practical. Positioning operations may create a strain on apparatus resources as the rate at which position information needs to be updated may vary depending on the resolution needed, the rate of position change, etc. Apparatuses that have ample processing and energy resources may still rely upon controls that limit processing and energy consumption. It is therefore foreseeable that the implementation of positioning services in apparatuses that may have more limited resources will present a challenge to designers. For example, desired applications such as user/object tracking may utilize mobile battery-powered apparatuses as beacons, sensors, etc. These devices may have extremely limited processing and communication ability, may not possess adequate size for dedicate positioning hardware and/or software, may not have the power capacity to support dedicated positioning operations, etc.